Thursday, April 06, 2017

Viva La Stink

The case arose out of a long-running battle between neighbors in an apartment complex in the town of Monfalcone along the Adriatic coast. Nearby residents complained about a married couple cooking large vats of pungent pasta sauces and “fritti misti,” a mixed fried seafood dish.

The food fight was first heard by a local court in the town of Gorizia. There, the offending couple was found guilty of anti-social behavior. The couple appealed that decision, taking the squabble to a higher court in Trieste, a nearby city.

When the higher court upheld the lower court’s ruling, the disgruntled duo took the case all the way to Rome, which ultimately upheld the two lower courts’ rulings.

The Roman judges said the couple’s unrelenting cooking brought about “the emission of odors and noises in the overhead apartment on the third floor,” which is owned by a different couple. The scent was so poignant, the judges determined, it was “beyond the limits of tolerability” and constituted what the court dubbed “olfactory molestation.”